82 EULLETIX 71, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



It would be well to use one page for each day. The gauges in reservoir and 

 outfall canal should be read before starting and again about one-half hour after 

 starting. If practicable they should be read once an hour during operation and 

 all other items should be so entered. It would also be well to read the oil 

 meter, when oil is burned, before firing the boiler and again after the pumps 

 are started. This will determine the losses due to intermittent operation, a 

 question that is at present a subject of much discussion. If coal or wood is 

 burned, it will not be so convenient to determine the amount consumed, but it 

 should be estimated at least once a month. Other expenses should be carefully 

 recorded and the total expenses of operating a plant should be classified under 

 the following headings : Fuel, labor, supplies, repairs, and superintendence. The 

 records should be kept in such form that the totals for month and year can 

 easily be obtained. The cost per acre per year can then be determined, but to 

 determine the cost of removing a given depth of water over the tract the pumps 

 must be carefully rated. The above form provides for such data that the 

 amount of water pumped can be calculated. If these records are faithfully 

 kept on a large number of districts for a term of years, the resulting data will 

 enable the engineer to design a pumping plant intelligently and with the 

 knowledge that it will give satisfaction, not only in capacity, but in economy. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 



It is with pleasure that acknowledgment is here made of the helpful spirit 

 of cooperation displayed by railroads, companies installing drainage systems, 

 landowners, and practicing engineers. Almost without exception these have 

 cheerfully cooperated in the investigations and have done much to extend the 

 scope and increase the accuracy of the work. 



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